Salad calories
spinnersue17
Posts: 4 Member
I'm new to calorie counting having come from SW, where most salad items were free. Is it necessary to count salad items such as lettuce, celery. tomatoes etc into my 1200 allowance? Obviously I count any dressings etc. Also, what about low calorie squashes please?
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Replies
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I count everything when I'm counting and find it beneficial to know how many veg I am eating and to be able to see my actual diet so as to see how different menus make it easier or harder for me.
1200 is likely low, so makes more sense to eat an amount that includes the veg calories and then count them.
With veg estimating is generally fine if you find that easier (I find it easier to put on the scale when chopping vs trying to estimate although I estimate when eating salad I buy).
I like counting veg as it encourages me to eat more. I feel good when a large number of my cals are from veg, and they often are -- my TDEE would be way off if I calculated it without including the veg I eat.8 -
I eat salads a lot and those 'free' items are not so free. Note: I do not use dressing so that one is not included in my counts! My salad counted can be anywhere between 130 and 250 calories depending on what vegetables I put in.
Considering you want to be at 1200 that would be 11-21% of you calorie allowance. That is not something you want to shove under the carpet15 -
I count all my veggies, even raw salad veggies, but I like to keep an eye on my nutrients (food for fuel mentality I have, sounds weird or crazy, but it helps me) and I try to get 1400-1500 calories a day, sometimes hitting 1600s.
I know people doing weight watchers who don't count their veggies.3 -
Everything!
It all has calories and adds up.
If you’re taking the time and effort to weigh and measure everything you consume, why wouldn’t you count the calories?7 -
I eat a ton of vegetables so they really add up over a day, ESPECIALLY on a small calorie deficit. So yes it's best to weigh and properly log all vegetables. some have a good number of calories (carrots for example).
and yes for squash. a big bowl of spagetti squash can be well over 30-50 calories.6 -
Weighing lettuce and celery? The world has gone mad
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pontious11349 wrote: »Weighing lettuce and celery? The world has gone mad
Some people have very small calorie allowances. For them the 50-100 calories of lettuce or other produce might make a large portion of their totals. For those of us eating less than 2000+ calories, that can be quite a difference.11 -
I completely understand this. And excuse my tongue in cheek comment.
My intent was simply implying that those odd 50-100 calories are not the culprits for exceeding daily budgets however strict it is. Its the snacks, the dressings, the marinades, etc.
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Into 1200, absolutely.3
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pontious11349 wrote: »I completely understand this. And excuse my tongue in cheek comment.
My intent was simply implying that those odd 50-100 calories are not the culprits for exceeding daily budgets however strict it is. Its the snacks, the dressings, the marinades, etc.
I understand where you're coming from but on that calorie budget you just gotta do it. 30 cals of spinach and kale or 60 is a whole serving of (yoghurt based) dressing's difference. They all add up, so why not just be sure?10 -
I don't always log every single ingredient in a salad, but I can look at the size of it and/or weigh the finished salad before dressings and croutons and guess pretty closely on the calories after so many years. I do weight avocados, those buggers are high calorie.
I have recipes and meals for salads, though. I like to get 5-8 servings (500-800 grams) per day of vegetables, so getting a general weight of the salad is important.5 -
spinnersue17 wrote: »I'm new to calorie counting having come from SW, where most salad items were free. Is it necessary to count salad items such as lettuce, celery. tomatoes etc into my 1200 allowance? Obviously I count any dressings etc. Also, what about low calorie squashes please?
I do count those things, but even when I was losing, TBH I didn't always weight them. I would weight tomatoes because I love them and those cals can add up. Really low cal stuff like leafy greens you can probably eyeball a cup or two cups and be fine. I like to also keep track of my fiber and my veggie servings, so I would want those foods reflected in my food log regardless!
The key is really to find the right balance for you between consistency and accuracy. If weighing out a bunch of veggies every day makes you less likely to log at all, eyeball portions and see how it goes. If you find you aren't losing weight as expected, go back and started weighing the stuff you haven't been and see if that's where the problem lies. Regardless, I'd log them, because you want your food log to reflect your diet so you can have a clear idea of what you are doing and how to troubleshoot if you need to
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pontious11349 wrote: »Weighing lettuce and celery? The world has gone mad
It's often just easier to routinely put foods on the scale when chopping vs having to waste mental energy estimating the amount.
Also, I usually log (when logging) at Cron to confirm I'm hitting all my nutrients, so I want an accurate count of the veg. Total amount of veg adds up to quite a lot over the day, for me (and that is what I want). Estimating would work fine for me if all I cared about were cals, but it wouldn't save time or energy.8 -
Weigh or measure every ingredient and log in your food diary.7
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It's amazing how even veggies can add up. I eat a low-fiber diet and am pretty ambivalent about eating most fruits and vegetables. I can still rack up 200 or so calories a day in produce. That definitely makes a difference in your calorie count!7
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pontious11349 wrote: »Weighing lettuce and celery? The world has gone mad
It's often just easier to routinely put foods on the scale when chopping vs having to waste mental energy estimating the amount.
Also, I usually log (when logging) at Cron to confirm I'm hitting all my nutrients, so I want an accurate count of the veg. Total amount of veg adds up to quite a lot over the day, for me (and that is what I want). Estimating would work fine for me if all I cared about were cals, but it wouldn't save time or energy.
Agree with the bolded.
Also, I always log mine, partly to track nutrition, and partly because it's not unusual for me to eat 400 and more calories of veggies and fruit (up to a quarter of my calorie budget), because I love them, and I'm vegetarian plus a volume eater.
Kimny is right: You needn't weigh the small stuff if you don't need to do that in order to accomplish your goals, unless you like tracking details. That could change over time, too: Our margin for error tends to get smaller as we get close to goal weight.
The one thing I'd add is that tracking accurately will help you understand your personal true calorie requirements (MFP and other calculators just give estimates). That knowledge can be useful, particularly as maintenance approaches. Also, it can be helpful to weigh more things at first, just to get a feel for what's more and less calorie-laden in the portions you tend to eat.
One issue people have is not knowing how to use a scale efficiently. Despite the (joke-y) title, the thread below is about how to do that, for people who want/need to weigh any foods:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10498882/weighing-food-takes-too-long-and-is-obsessive9 -
I count them because I try to achieve 30 grams of fiber per day and stay within 60 grams protein per day on my 1200 calorie diet. Many vegetables significantly contribute to these nutrients.2
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I don't weigh my lettuce or cucumber but rarely include more than those items, a tomato, some pepper and a couple of radishes in my salad - the whole lot comes to around 80 cals I think! Its the dressing that does the damage.2
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You'd be surprised. English Cucumbers have 3 times the calories that regular Cucumbers have, for example. Adds up quickly. That's why I weigh everything.
I figure, if I take a shortcut and don't weigh my salads, what's the next food I'll take a shortcut with?
For me personally, that's a recipe for disaster.7 -
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I weigh everything that goes into my salads with one exception: I eyeball my leafy greens. I use the same bowl for salads and know how 2 cups of greens looks in it. It is only 10 calories a cup so I can afford to be a little rebellious in this one thing.7
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I try and account for everything. Calorie counting is a bit of a switch from other programs like WW or similar where certain foods don't count. I know when I did WW years ago, I could eat all the fruit and veggies I wanted for 0 calories. But I try and be meticulous so that I can see all the data and find a solution if there's an issue.0
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I count salad and although there are some items like lettuce and cucumber which are so watery (add celery into that too), they really have minimal calories others will be more calorific and will impact on your calories if you are very limited such as, sweetcorn, beetroot, carrots, avocado (of course), tomatoes if you like a lot (and I like a LOT), onions if you have a lot, fennel, peppers etc
In terms of veg, onion, garlic (I eat a LOT of that), carrots, sweetcorn, peas, peppers, celeriac, broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage, could all add up (without any cooking or dressing fats) to around 100-200 cals dependent on how much, so thats a lot to leave out3 -
I weigh and log everything. While that 15 extra calories of lettuce is not even close to reason I’m overweight, it’s about habits. Personally if I let the lettuce slide how long until it’s not worth weighing or logging the dressing. I mean that dressing is only 50 calories, surely it’s not a big deal and before I know it there’s food anarchy.7
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pontious11349 wrote: »I completely understand this. And excuse my tongue in cheek comment.
My intent was simply implying that those odd 50-100 calories are not the culprits for exceeding daily budgets however strict it is. Its the snacks, the dressings, the marinades, etc.
When you have a very small deficit and a tiny margin for error, every single calorie counts.3 -
When I logged, I was a lot more loose with low calorie vegetables. For a garden salad I made a recipe once that I just used generically whenever I had a salad...figured it was good enough.0
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You'd be surprised. English Cucumbers have 3 times the calories that regular Cucumbers have, for example. Adds up quickly. That's why I weigh everything.
I figure, if I take a shortcut and don't weigh my salads, what's the next food I'll take a shortcut with?
For me personally, that's a recipe for disaster.
Can I ask what might be a stupid question...I’m English and 58 and until very, very recently I’ve not even heard the term English Cucumber. You’ve said these cucumbers have 3x the calories of a ‘regular’ cucumber. What I’m curious about is what are you referring to as a ‘regular’ cucumber?
The only cucumbers we generally see here, in England, are maybe 12 inches long, and probably 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter. I’ve once or twice seen and bought what are simply called ‘baby cucumber’ which are just mini versions as far as I knew.
So yes...I’m now curious as to what I’ve been eating and logging! I always log using an entry that corresponds to the specific supermarket that I bought it from, but I’m mostly just curious about what you guys mean!2 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »You'd be surprised. English Cucumbers have 3 times the calories that regular Cucumbers have, for example. Adds up quickly. That's why I weigh everything.
I figure, if I take a shortcut and don't weigh my salads, what's the next food I'll take a shortcut with?
For me personally, that's a recipe for disaster.
Can I ask what might be a stupid question...I’m English and 58 and until very, very recently I’ve not even heard the term English Cucumber. You’ve said these cucumbers have 3x the calories of a ‘regular’ cucumber. What I’m curious about is what are you referring to as a ‘regular’ cucumber?
The only cucumbers we generally see here, in England, are maybe 12 inches long, and probably 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter. I’ve once or twice seen and bought what are simply called ‘baby cucumber’ which are just mini versions as far as I knew.
So yes...I’m now curious as to what I’ve been eating and logging! I always log using an entry that corresponds to the specific supermarket that I bought it from, but I’m mostly just curious about what you guys mean!
English cucumbers are longer and skinnier than the “regular” cucumbers people are talking about. They have grooved skin instead of smooth and very small seeds. Picture below. If they do indeed have more calories, I would think it’s because they have less water content.
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And for comparisons sake, here’s what people are calling a “regular” cucumber.
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